


Happy Birthday, Luke Skywalker

by IAmAwesomeMe



Series: DinLuke slow burn but I also have an actual plot [6]
Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, could you call that fluff?, i compleatly forgot chewie exists, im going to
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:55:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29823867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAmAwesomeMe/pseuds/IAmAwesomeMe
Summary: Din gets invited to Luke Skywalker's birthday. If you haven't read First Kiss this might not make sense but it's still cute.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker
Series: DinLuke slow burn but I also have an actual plot [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2121021
Kudos: 28





	1. Prologue

Tech Wizard sat in a dark, underground room, being guarded by Imperial Stormtroopers. He was in his late 20s, with skin so pale from staring at computers all day that he looked more like a ghost than a person. Tech Wizard wasn’t his official name, it was his code name given to him when he joined the empire. He was used to working in windowless rooms, had been doing it since he was a kid, but he wasn’t used to making this much money. That’s why he joined them, the money. Plus, he got to work on some really creative projects. Like what he was working on now.

But the half destroyed dark trooper below him was interrupted by a call. “Captain,” he answered.

“Wiz,” she replied, using his nickname. She was the one to oversee the mission on Coruscant. It had been a success, but a small one and if she was to succeed, she would need more of them. But that was no matter. She had many different plans in the works. “How’s the project coming?”

“Coming along well, you got what I need?”

“Sending the first batch now.” They waited a moment, then a collection of audio files came into his inbox.

“Got them,” he told her. “When are you getting the next batch, boss is getting nervous.”

“Boss knows that this is going to take a while,” she said. “And, he appreciates that a job done well is better than a job done quickly. Speaking of, how’s the second project coming along?”

This was her masterpiece. It was clever yet straightforward. And more important than anything it would directly show the boss what she is capable of. Hopefully this bit would win her enough good favor with the people upstairs that she could proceed with the rest of her plan uninterrupted. That would never happen, she knew. Middle management always liked to interfere, even in things they had no possible qualification to interfere in. 

Tech Wizard looked over at a fully armed kinetic bomb. It was big enough to take down a city block and could be detonated at a distance of a few thousand miles. There was no way to detect it, either, as it was covered in the best cloaking technologies around. And it wasn’t alone. There were two more, identical to the first that were just as deadly. He grinned. “Oh yeah. This baby’s ready to go.”


	2. The invitation

Luke was moping around the camp, like usual. He had been for a while. He wasn’t quite as mopey as he had been a month ago when Din had kissed him and he messed everything up, but he was still pretty down in the dumps. He was going about his day, doing everything he needed to, but his heart wasn’t in it.

At first, he wanted to call Din. He wanted to call Din so bad. But he didn’t know what to say. He kept trying to think of an excuse, maybe something about Grogu, some reason to call him so he could apologize but there wasn’t any. There wouldn’t be another holiday for a while, so there was no reason to call him for that. Grogu was a model student, never starting fights or having problems. He was actually teaching some of the other kids who were having problems with meditations.

So, Luke didn’t call Din. But, when Din called him it was a shock. Luke checked on his tent after lunch and saw he had missed a call. He checked on who it was and was very surprised. His heart started to race as he turned on the answering machine.

“Luke,” Din said. He was nervous, Luke could tell. Was it because he didn’t use the holo features? Or was it because he was calling Luke, specifically? Luke was nervous. “I just want to…” Din was struggling to find the words, Luke could see that. “I think we should talk… Before moving forward, I mean… So, please call me back when you get a chance.”

The message ended, and Luke furrowed his brows. Was that it? That was so short. Nothing for a month and then that? Well, Luke couldn’t complain too much. He never sent anything at all.

He replayed the message. Din wanted to talk, apparently. He didn’t say about what. That’s what made Luke nervous. He knew Din said to call him back right away, but he ignored that, dialing up his sister to talk.

“Hey, there,” she greeted him. “What’s up?”

“How much time do you have to talk?” Luke asked.

“I have a meeting in about 20 minutes, is that ok?”

“Yeah,” Luke said, giving her the run down of Din’s message. “My question is: why?”

“That’s a tough one,” Leia pondered. “And you didn’t contact him? He just sent this out of the blue?”

“Yeah, completely,” Luke told her. “What does it mean? What does he want to talk about?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” she said. “I suggest you call him, and just let him lead the conversation.”

“Din leading a conversation?” Luke almost laughed.

“Just let him say what his business is and don’t interrupt him or be too pushy.”

“I’ll try,” Luke said. “If it’s over quick, I’m going to call you after, okay?”

“You better,” she said, hanging up.

He called up Din. Din answered on the second ring. He was flying, so he wasn’t exactly looking at Luke but Luke didn’t mind. He had a striking profile. Luke felt butterflies stir in his belly and a soft ache fill his chest until he reminded himself, he had to keep a neutral face and pushed those feelings down. “Din. You left a message? I’m supposed to call you back, right?”

“Yeah, one sec.” He put the ship in hyperspace and turned to face Luke. “Umm, I was just wanting to talk about this Friday.”

“Friday?” Luke was confused. “Why Friday?”

“I just think we should talk before we see each other again.”

“I’m not even going to be here on Friday, my sister and I are having…” Luke realized what had happened. “I’m going to have to call you back in, like, two seconds.” He hung up and called his sister again.

“That was quick,” Leia said. “What did he say?”

“Quick question. Did you remember to remove Din from the invite list?”

“Umm, what?”

“The huge joint 30th Birthday Bash we are having on Friday. Din was on the list, then everything happened and I said you should take him off the invite list.”

“No, you just said that he should be taken off the list. I thought you did it.”

“Well, I didn’t do it, I thought you were going to.”

A moment passed between them where they realized exactly what happened.

“So he got an invite,” Luke concluded.

“Apparently. It seems you were the one who contacted him out of the blue, not the other way around.”

“And with a party invite, no less.” Luke sighed. “This is going to be rough.”

“Well, I should probably leave you to it. Call me after.”

“You have your meeting in 10, right?”

“I can be a few minutes late. Call me.”

“Will do.” They hung up and Luke redialed Din. He picked up on the first ring.

“Luke?” Din asked.

“Right, so there’s been a bit of a mix-up,” Luke started to explain. “You were, originally, on the list for the party back when we started planning it after the Coruscant council meeting. Then everything…” Luke wasn’t sure how to best describe what happened, “everything that happened happened and I wasn’t sure you would want to come so I told Leia you should be taken off. I thought she was going to do it, she thought I was going to do it, in the end no one did anything. So, I’m sorry you got that invite, if you don’t want to come you don’t have to.”

“I do.” Din said.

Luke was taken aback. “You do?” Luke couldn’t understand. “Why?”

“It looks like fun,” Din shrugged.

“It will be,” Luke smiled. He and Leia had been planning this for months. “We’re taking over the entire Cloud City. Our friend Lando runs it, so he’s letting us use it. All our old resistance buddies are going to be there. There’s going to be drinking and partying and dancing and it’s going to be a really good time.”

“It sounds like it.”

“Do you do that much partying?” Luke asked. He couldn’t believe that Din would actually want to be there.

“Not really,” Din admitted. “But it sounds fun, like I said.” Plus, he wanted to see Luke again. Talk about… everything that happened. He was sure if he could just explain it, he and Luke could come to some sort of an understanding. What Ille said to him, about Luke liking him, made him hopeful.

“Well, you’re free to come if you’d like,” Luke told him. “There’s some old rebellion fighters that will be watching the kids, so you don’t have to worry about that. And the party is on Friday, but a bunch of close friends are going to stay for the weekend and catch up. You should come and stay for as long as you want.”

“Great. See you then.”

“See you.”

It was only after Din hung up that he realized that he never actually sorted out what had happened between them which was the whole point of the call. He wanted to smooth things out, talk about it. Things seemed to be relatively back to normal but they would still need to have a conversation. Only know they would have to talk during Luke’s birthday party. Whatever, Din shrugged. He was just happy that Luke wanted him to be there.

Luke quickly told Leia what had happened, told her that Din was coming. She had to run out to her meeting and Luke had to get back to the camp, so they couldn’t talk long. They said goodbye, and Luke left his tent to go help Sani with her lightsaber practice. Sani noticed that he was smiling, for the first time in a while.


	3. The party

Din arrived at Cloud City and knew he didn’t belong here. He thought it would be more people like the delegates he had met previously, but he was wrong. They weren’t nearly as stuffy and lacked the air of self-importance. It was a lot of young people, which shouldn’t have surprised Din since Luke and Leia were both quite young but even the older people that were more Din’s age seemed younger than him, smiling and optimistic. Din knew that around 90% of these people fought in the rebellion, and that they would be celebrating the same way they did when they won.

There was a huge banner reading “Luke and Leia’s 30th Birthday Bash” that was hung in front of the entrance. Inside, the bartenders were preparing for the party later that evening. There was food set out on trays all around the room and a dancefloor in one corner.

At the center of the room was Luke. He was talking to Leia, Han and someone else Din guessed was Lando. He was wearing black, like always, but it was a fancier robe than what he wore around the jedi academy. When he saw Din his face light up, and Din felt his heart stir. Leia also noticed Din and waved him over.

When Din joined them, they were discussing the party. Luke and Leia smiled at him as Han rolled his eyes. “Lando, this is the Mandalorian I was telling you about,” Luke said. “Mandalorian, meet Lando.” Din nodded at Lando, who nodded back. “I wasn’t sure you wanted to stay or not so there’s a room for you if you want it.”

“I think I can just stay on my ship,” Din said.

“Right, the party is going to start in about an hour or so,” Leia interrupted. “If you want to eat before then, you should do it now.”

Din nodded. The twins seemed like they had more important things than to talk to him so he went back to his ship. He opened the cabinet with portions in it and took out a half portion, seeing Ille’s half-eaten sleeve of cookies and smiling. He should give it to Luke to give to Grogu. He ate his dinner and got ready for the party, taking off most, but not all, of his weapons. He took off his jetpack, too. It was too clunky to carry around in a social setting. He kept his darksaber, though. He didn’t know much about how to use it but it was his duty as Mand’alor to carry it.

He went back and the party was in full swing. The dance floor was going and Luke, Leia and Han were partying on it. They were drinking too. Some of the party was dancing with them, but most were hanging around, talking and catching up. It seemed that they all knew each other, as well as Luke and Leia. Din guessed this was as much a reunion for all who had fought in the rebellion as it was birthday party for the twins.

Din found a semi-circular booth on the edge of the party and sat in it, observing everyone else having fun. It may sound odd, but Din didn’t hate people as much as he let on, he just hated when they tried to talk to him. He liked people well enough while they were talking amongst themselves, but when they tried to talk to him, he had no idea what to say and wouldn’t say the right thing. But a party like this? Where no one would really talk to him other than people he already knew? This was actually nice.

He would have to talk with Luke at some point, he knew that much. He looked over at the dance floor where Luke was smiling with his sister, celebrating and partying. He looked happy, really happy. That ugly conversation could wait.

They danced for a while, and stopped when the cake was brought out. The two stood in front of it as everyone gathered around them. Din hung back, staying in his booth. He observed everything from a distance, seeing Luke and Leia blow out the candles together. Everyone cheered, and the cake was taken away to be cut and Din noticed Luke scanning the crowd. He was looking for someone. Luke’s eyes found Din in his corner and he smiled. Apparently, Luke was looking for him, Din realized. Din smiled under his helmet.

Luke said something to his sister, then disappeared into the crowd. Din turned back to observing the people around him. He supposed he should work out what he should say to Luke, and when he should say it.

“Is this seat taken?” a voice asked. Din looked up, and saw Luke standing before him, a plate of food in one hand, a drink in the other. “I figured that I should probably take a break and eat something. Can I sit with you?”

Din nodded, and Luke went around to the other side of the booth and scooted in till he was seated next to Din.

“Having a good time?” Luke asked.

Din nodded. There was a small silence, and Din wondered if now was a good time to bring up what had happened.

“About last time-” both men said at the exact same time. They looked away, embarrassed. Luke’s blush deepened.

“Listen, Din,” Luke said, before the other man got a chance to say anything else. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry. What I did, it crossed a line. I shouldn’t have and I’m so sorry. I just hope we can still be friends.”

That… wasn’t how Din wanted this to go. He had actually been hoping that the conversation would end in them trying kissing once more. But this was fine. It was what Luke wanted, after all. So, it was fine. It would be fine. “I do to,” Din responded.

Luke smiled. “Good.” He went back to eating his dinner and people watching with Din.

“Do you know all these people?” Din asked. It was hard for him to believe that one person could have this many friends.

“Mostly. Some of them are Leia’s friends from Coruscant but most of them I know from the rebellion.”

“I never thought I would call the rebellion the ‘good old days’ but here we are,” Han said, appearing with Leia and a plate of food. “Though, to be fair, I never thought I’d be in a rebellion.”

Leia and Han slid into the booth next to Luke. “I’m still half convinced that was all one big fever dream,” Luke joked.

Luke, Han and Leia continued joking back and forth. Din like hearing them talk. They were interrupted a few times when various people came over to wish Luke and Leia happy birthday. Din felt kind of guilty about keeping them to himself when they should be out talking with everyone. But Luke and Leia didn’t seem to mind, so Din pushed his feelings of guilt aside.

Then a young man approached. Din could feel the energy shift. Luke became nervous, almost bashful. Leia was nervous too, looking between Luke, Din and the newcomer. Han, however, looked like he was having the time of his life. Din observed the newcomer carefully, trying to figure out what was happening, why he made everyone so on edge.

He wished Leia a happy birthday, and said hello to Han, but then turned and gave Luke his full attention. Clearly, he was closer to Luke than anyone else here. He started talking about Hoth, but there was something in his eyes, something that lead Din to believe that the weren’t actually talking about Hoth.

“Din, this is Tim Rembly,” Luke introduced him, quickly changing the subject.

“We’re… old friends,” Tim said, but Din could sense that there was more that. “Remember when we would go out on our x-wings and race? Luke here would beat me every time.” Then Tim leaned in close, voice clearly filled with insinuation. “How about a rematch?”

Luke blushed and looked down into his beer. Din could tell that ‘rematch’ was clearly code for something, and judging by Tim’s tone and the look in his eye it was code for sex. Leia looked away in second-hand embarrassment, but Han couldn’t look away. His eyes darted between Luke, Tim and Han like he was watching a sitcom.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Luke said.

“Suit yourself,” Tim said, “but you know where I am if you change your mind.” He winked and left.

There was a really awkward moment when no one knew what to say.

“So,” Han said, a huge grin across his face as he addressed Din, “fun fact about Tim and Luke, they used to fu-”

“Han!” Luke said.

“What?” Han said, trying to act innocently. “I’m just trying to catch him up.”

Leia elbowed Han. “Don’t.”

Luke blushed and looked down at his drink. He couldn’t believe Han was doing this. Actually, he could. Leia hadn’t told Han what happened, just as Luke had instructed. Han knew something happened, but the complete lack of details left him frustrated and meant he was now torturing Din. Din. Oh gods, he didn’t want this to upset Din.

Leia told Han to go get her refill from the bar. He complained about the line, but went as his wife requested.

“I’m so sorry,” Luke whispered to Din.

“It’s fine,” Din said.

“No, really-”

“Seriously, it’s fine.” He looked over at Luke with all honesty his helmeted face could muster.

Luke sighed in relief. “Yeah. Great.” He was beginning to relax around Din once more, and that’s just when things tend to go wrong for him. “I mean you must have some awkward exs, right?”

Nope, he shouldn’t have said that. Luke could feel Din get closed off and guarded. “Actually no,” Din said.

“No exs or no awkward exs?” Leia asked. She took over the questioning so that her brother doesn’t stick his foot in his mouth again.

“No exs.” Din looked down at the table. This was very awkward. Din had never really been ashamed or embarrassed of his dating history, or lack thereof, but he was now. He looked over at Luke, who was still looking into his drink.

“Is that a Mandalorian thing?” Leia asked, genuinely interested.

“Somewhat,” Din said. He was back on firmer ground now, talking about something he knew well. “Traditionally, sex doesn’t happen outside of marriage. Not for Mandalorian, at least. In Mandalorian culture, children are literally the most important thing. Out of the six core tenant of Mandalorian culture, half of them have to do with making sure that kids are taken care of. You never want there to be a child outside of marriage, that doesn’t have a proper home with parents and a clan to take care of it. And even in unions where children can’t be conceived, it’s part of Mandalorian culture to not indulge unless it’s in the bounds of marriage.”

“Is that why you were so quick to care about Grogu?” Luke asked. “And Ille too?”

“Yeah,” Din said. “I was hired to bounty hunt a fifty-year-old, but when I got there, he was just a little kid. I had to protect him. And I get Ille is older, but it’s the same thing. She doesn’t have a family or clan, someone to take care of her and make sure that she eats and sleeps ok at night.”

Luke looked up at Din with admiration. He was so caring and kind. Luke felt his stomach turn with a mix between envy and admiration.

“So, no one has sex outside of marriage so that no child is left alone,” Leia said, getting back on topic.

“Not exactly,” Din clarified. “For one, that was never exactly the case. There were always some Mandalorians who do everything except the kind of sex that makes babies. That grew after the Great Purge when Mandalorians were scattered throughout the galaxy. There was no central planet anymore, just small groups living in hiding. Many decided that the old rules weren’t to be held as strictly anymore. But even then, it’s something special. When it is done, it’s not like it happening with everyone else. It’s not as… spontaneous. We don’t…” Din didn’t know how to phrase this next part.

“Throw off your shirt and get to it whenever the fancy strikes you?” Luke’s voice dripped with self-deprecation.

“Not exactly.” Din’s answer surprised Luke and he looked up. “If two people are already in a relationship like that, they can be as spontaneous as they want. It’s more the entering of a relationship like that where there’s no spontaneity. It’s always discussed beforehand, and even if they aren’t married per se there’s enough of an emotional bond that they are willing to raise and hypothetical children that they might find.”

Luke nodded. He understood Mandalorian culture a bit better now and that helped things make sense a bit more. See, if he had known all this beforehand, he wouldn’t have done what he did. He had known vaguely that Mandalorian culture didn’t have the same attitudes toward sex as other cultures but thought that when Din initiated the kiss he was also initiating… other activities. Clearly that wasn’t the case.

But then that got him thinking down a different path. Din had kissed him. From what he was talking about with Mandalorian culture that was important. More than just lustful, it was something you only did with someone that you want to have a larger relationship with. That idea warmed Luke’s heart, just a bit.

Han came back with the drinks. He had brought back two beers, and slid one over to Din. “Listen man, I’m sorry about earlier.”

Din nodded. “It’s fine.” He passed the beer over to Luke. “Want this?”

“You don’t drink alcohol?” Han asked.

“I don’t drink beer. No Mandalorian does.”

“Why’s that?” Luke was intrigued, taking a sip of the drink. It was perfectly fine beer.

“It has, like 5% alcohol,” Din explained. “That’s nothing. If you want to drink alcohol, drink alcohol. Drinking beer is basically like drinking water.”

“So you’d never have something this light.” Luke took a sip. It seemed plenty alcoholic to him.

“Sometimes you water down wine if you’re giving it to a kid, but even then, it usually ends up at around 10% alcohol.”

“Kids?” Leia asked.

“Usually 13 to 18, before they officially swear the creed.”

“And once they swear the creed?” Luke prompted.

“Basically won’t drink anything with less than 20% alcohol,” Din told him.

“So, shots?” Luke offered.

Din accepted, and he and Luke went up to the bar together.

“Can I get a straw?” Din asked the barkeep.

The only straws they had were the hard plastic twisty ones that were kept for kids. Luke smiled as he saw the Mandalorian drinking a large amount of hard alcohol with it.

Luke and Leia went back to dancing. Han hung back, as did Din. Neither of them were much for dancing. People came up and talked to Han a little, swapping stories about what they’ve been up to. Then Han got a call.

“Excuse me,” Han said, making his way outside to take the call. With nothing better to do, Din followed Han. He followed Han to a balcony that was mostly deserted. He opened the call and the hologram of a small boy sprung to life. His son, Din recognized from earlier. They started to talk, and Din focused his helmet’s hearing so that he could overhear the conversation.

Han told his son good night, making sure that he had gone through his nightly routine and that he was well taken care of. He was staying at Luke’s camp, apparently. Ben was talking about wanting to stay there, and train with the other force-sensitive children. Han and Leia were conflicted on this point, apparently. Leia wanted him to hone his skills with his uncle, Han wanted him to have a regular childhood. Din couldn’t help but agree with Han here. He had sent Grogu to train because there was no other way to protect him, but if he could he would have rather given him a home and a normal life.

Han sung Ben a lullaby. He was a good father; Din was beginning to see that. Maybe not good, but trying his best. And Din could sympathize with that. He groaned. Maybe everything Luke had said about them being remarkably similar was true.

Din rejoined the party. “There you are,” Luke said when he stepped back into the room. He was smiling and happy and swaying back and forth so he leaned against Din.

“You’re drunk,” Din noted.

“You’re not,” Luke remarked. “Want to change that?”

So far Din had kept himself on a pretty tight leash. But he looked around the room. There was no real danger. There were no enemies. If he was to loosen up, now would be the time. Then he looked down at Luke. His bright blue eyes shone in the dim light. His smile was warm and inviting, but also dared Din to follow him wherever he went. Din could feel his hands on Din’s forearms to steady himself, could feel his chest pressing against Din’s as he tried to keep himself upright. Din wanted to be with Luke, wherever that may be. “Absolutely,” Din told him.


	4. The night

Din found that he enjoyed partying with Luke. And apparently Luke enjoyed partying with him, seeing that he didn’t leave Din’s side all night. The party was winding down. Leia and Han went to bed, kissing each other wildly as they left. Luke was also considering going to bed soon. But he didn’t want to leave Din. Part of him wanted him and Din to pass out on the floor somewhere so they can spend the night in each other’s arms. But Din wasn’t going to do that anytime soon. Even when he drank a lot, he didn’t actually drink all that much. He was drunk, but he could still for complete sentences, so he still wasn’t exactly on Luke’s level. Still, maybe Luke could leverage this in his favor.

“This party’s winding down,” Luke slurred. “You wanna,” he mimed walking, “back to,” he mimed himself, “room.”

Din considered it, but still had some hold outs.

“Friends,” Luke said, holding his hands up as he sensed the reason why Din might be cautious. “ _You_ don’t do that,” he gestured to one of the couches where two drunk people were going at it, making out with an intensity, “so _I_ don’t do that neither. Either. Neither. Whatever.”

Din agreed to go to Luke’s room, if for no other reason than to get his drunker friend up to his room alright. They go into the room, and Luke went to flop onto the bed. He missed, and ended up being thrown onto the floor. Din laughed; he couldn’t help it. He laid down on the floor beside Luke.

Luke looked over at him, grinning like an idiot. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

Din managed to get Luke in a slightly more upright position at the foot of his bed. They stayed there for a moment, siting on the floor. Luke rested his head on Din’s shoulder. The room had stopped spinning and his mind was beginning to clear ever so slightly.

“Happy birthday,” Din whispered. Luke looked up at him. “I just realized I hadn’t actually said it yet, so I wanted to before the night was over. Happy birthday.”

Luke smiled up at him. “Thank you.”

They stayed there a moment, just looking into each other’s eyes. Luke wanted to kiss him so bad, but didn’t. He knew that Din wouldn’t appreciate it. He had messed it up, if he wanted to rebuild it their friendship, and maybe their relationship too, he would have to start from square one. He sighed, putting his head back on Din’s shoulder. That seemed to be comfortable with him. “It was a good birthday, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, it was,” Din said. He began to move the arm that Luke was lying against. Thinking he was trying to shake off his companion, Luke pulled back. “No,” Din said, wrapping his freed arm around the young jedi and pulling him close.

Luke smiled once more, letting his head fall back to where it was. He couldn’t stop smiling. Din was holding him, after all. Why shouldn’t he keep smiling for as long as this lasted?

“I didn’t get to really meet many of your friend, the party was pretty loud,” Din remarked.

“There’s going to be a dinner tomorrow, for everyone to really talk and catch up, as well as brunch on Sunday. You should come to those. It could give you a chance to really meet everyone.” Din nodded. “They are good people. Good fighters, too.”

“Yeah, I figured.”

They sat there for another moment. It was a comfortable silence. The kind of silence where you’ve already said everything you need to say and just wanted to be with the other person. At least, Luke just wanted to stay there with Din. He wasn’t so sure about Din himself. Maybe this was uncomfortable for Din? Maybe Din just wanted to leave but didn’t because he felt an obligation to Luke. Gods, was Luke just holding Din back from whatever he wanted to do.

“I’m sorry,” Luke said, pulling back from Din.

“What for?” Din asked, concerned.

“I’m sorry for coming onto you like that,” Luke said, unable to meet Din’s eyes. “I know I already said that, but it needs to be said again.”

“Luke,” Din said softly, almost a whisper.

“No, I am. I’m so sorry. I must have been so uncomfortable for you.”

“Luke,” Din repeated, more forceful this time but still quiet.

“I mean, if I was in your position, I would totally understand not wanting to ever see me again.”

“Luke,” Din said firmly, using a hand on his chin to raise it till he was able to meet the Jedi’s eyes. “Luke, I don’t want that.”

Luke looked into the Mandalorian’s helmet, his head swirling. His breath caught as they stared into each other’s eyes. “Then what do you want?” Luke asked. It came out a lot more suggestive than he had originally intended it, but maybe that wasn’t a bad thing.

Din just stared at him for a moment, unable to say what it was that he truly wanted. “To stay here with you,” he said, eventually.

“I want that too,” Luke said. A soft smile formed on his lips.

They leaned back against the base board of Luke’s bed, looking away from each other nervously. Din’s arm had been released back to him at some point. He wanted to wrap it around Luke once again but held back. Luke pulled his legs back, hugging his chins. He didn’t know what to say next. They way Din had talked, held him, stayed, Luke was pretty sure that if he played his cards right, they could be kissing again before the night is over. But he was still fairly drunk and wasn’t sure what exactly were the right cards.

They stayed there in silent another moment, no one knowing what to say next. Both wanted, more or less, the same thing. Neither knew, at all, how to go about getting it. They couldn’t think of anything to say.

In the end, Luke spoke first. “So, did you have a fun time at the party?” It was the only thing he could think to say but he still felt like an idiot afterwards.

“Yeah,” Din told him. “So did everyone else, it seemed.”

Luke nodded. “I enjoyed catching up with all my old buddies.”

“All of them?” Din asked.

“Of course,” Luke was smiling.

“Even Tim?” Din asked.

Luke’s smile fell. “Maybe not him.”

A question had been bothering Din. “Just how many exs do you have?” he asked. “If you feel comfortable sharing it, I mean.”

“Well.” Truth is Luke didn’t feel comfortable sharing it but thought that it was better to get it out into the open now rather than later. “Okay, so the first thing that you have to understand is that we were teenagers but also fighting for our lives. Half the time it was ‘we’re going to live forever,’ the other half it was ‘we’re going to die, we only have tonight.’ I have mellowed out since then. Hell, I haven’t kissed anyone since starting the training camp a few years ago. Well, except for, you know.” Luke gestured to Din. “But as for my time in the rebellion? At the start I was mourning the loss of my first boyfriend Biggs. But there were a lot of attractive young pilots, and I was the hero that just blew up the Death Star. Gentleman callers were… plentiful.” Luke couldn’t help but smile at the memory, but shook off the smile when he remembered Din was there. “They didn’t mean anything, not really. There wasn’t any sort of connection beyond the physical.”

“Like, one-night stands?” Din asked.

“Not exactly,” Luke told him. “Most of them lasted beyond one night. It was more like, a different guy in my bed every other week.”

Din nodded. Stacking his own sexual history against Luke’s, it was intimidating. He knew Luke had been with other guys, but this was a lot. He wasn’t sure if he could measure up. Scratch that, he was sure he couldn’t.

“But here’s the thing, and I cannot stress this enough, I didn’t really care about them,” Luke told Din. He didn’t know what Din was thinking, but he knew it wasn’t good. He wanted Din to stop that. He never wanted Din to think like that ever again. “It was meaningless, okay. It wasn’t love, not like it was with-” He stopped himself. He was about to say something he was going to regret. He was about to say Din.

But Din knew that, or could guess it. The idea that Luke could say that about him, Din felt his heart soar in his chest. “Hey,” Din said softly. Luke looked up at him, embarrassed. But Din looked down at him with compassion. “I understand.” And Luke could tell that he did. “It was like that for me too.”

Luke couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It was everything he wanted Din to say. The only thing he could do was smile softly at the idea that his feelings could be returned. He wanted to show Din how much he cared, and not mess it up like he had before.

“I really never learn,” Luke said to himself.

“Why?” Din was curious.

“Well, it’s just that, despite knowing that I shouldn’t repeat past mistakes, if you didn’t have that helmet on, I would have kissed you just then.”

Din considered it. “Well, if you had a blindfold on, I wouldn’t have had my helmet on.”

Luke understood what he was implying, or more accurately suggesting. “Then I guess I should find a blindfold.”

Luke and Din broke apart, looking around the room for something to cover Luke’s eyes. Luke’s head swirled with a mixture of alcohol and romance and excitement. He really could barely think straight. Actually, he couldn’t think straight. The only thing he could think was Din’s mouth on his once more.

“Will this work?” Din asked. He held up one of the bands that were used to keep the curtains out of the window.

“Perfect.” They meet back at the floor at the foot of the bed. Din covered Luke’s eyes, tying the strap and pulling it tight. “Oww,” Luke cried out, his hand going to the back of his head.

“Did I hurt you?” Din asked, very concerned.

“I’m fine, it just caught my hair a bit,” Luke told him. “Let me.” He redid the knot, a bit more gently this time. Din noted the way he did it, making mental notes for next time. He didn’t want to hurt Luke ever again. “There, see?” Luke said, proudly showing off his newly covered eyes.

Din smiled as he removed his helmet. “Perfect.” He leaned forward and kissed the Jedi once more. The Jedi kissed him back, holding his face in his hands and the Mandalorian wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling him close. They stayed there, wrapped up in each other’s embrace.

Luke was thrilled. He was with Din, feeling his hair through his fingers once more. Feeling the way Din’s tongue felt in his mouth. Feeling Din’s hands on his waist, his back, pulling him closer. He wanted to stay like this forever. He wanted to want to stay here forever. The hard floor was bugging him.

“Din,” Luke gasped as the man in question started kissing his neck. “Din, I don’t want suggest anything indecent. No sex, I know, it’s just-”

“What is it,” Din pulled back.

“Can we move this onto the bed? Not to do anything more than what we’re doing right now, it’s just that the floor is kind of uncomfortable.”

Din chuckled. “I was literally about to say that.”

They broke apart, but kept each other close. Din guided the still blindfolded Luke up to the bed. They came together again, kissing and holding each other close as they lay on the bed. Luke couldn’t stop smiling. He was with Din once more. And this time he wouldn’t mess it up.

They stayed like that, locked in each other’s embrace, kissing the other’s mouth, neck, jaw, until their lips hurt. They eventually settled down, pressing their foreheads together as they relaxed in each other’s embrace. Din examined Luke’s face. He couldn’t see his eyes, but worked to memorize every other aspect of him. The curve of his smile, the blush of his cheeks, the shape of his nose. The way his body felt in Din’s hand.

“Stay,” Luke said.

“Hmm?” Din asked.

“Like, I want you to stay for the night. I don’t know if you were planning on it, but I would really like you to. Not to have sex or anything, I just want to fall asleep with you and wake up next to you. So, stay?”

“I’ll stay,” Din promised. “It’s late to go back to my ship anyway.” Luke nodded, and yawned. Din just smiled. “Let’s get you to bed.”

He pulled back the covers that they were lying on, and tucked Luke in. “I don’t really need to sleep.”

“I know,” Din said, going back to the foot of the bed.

“Where are you going?” Luke asked.

“Just getting my helmet,” Din said. “You don’t want to sleep with the blindfold, do you?”

“I wouldn’t mind it,” Luke admitted. “Not if it meant I get to give you morning kisses.”

“You can still give me morning kisses,” Din told him, his voice now different as it passed through the vocoder in his helmet. He joined Luke under the covers.

“Hold on, can you take if off for just a bit longer?” Luke asked.

“Why?” His voice was normal once more.

“I want just a few more good night kisses,” Luke told him. They kissed some more, though this time it was softer. Satisfied, Luke released Din who put his helmet on once more and took off Luke’s blindfold. The light was dim, but Luke still blinked to recover his sight. He looked over to the Mandalorian he was sharing a bed with, and smiled. They had shared beds before, but not like this. Before, they would stay sleep independently, with at least a foot of room between them. Now, Luke rested his head on Din’s chest as Din wrapped Luke in his arms. Luke could hear his heart beating in his chest, could feel the life beneath him.

But something was still nagging in the back of Luke’s mind. “Can I just clarify a few things?” he asked.

“Sure.”

Luke bit his lip. “For one, I don’t want this to be a one-off thing. I want to keep doing this with you. Tomorrow night, and the night after, and maybe not the night after that because you might have to leave or something but whenever you come visit me and Grogu. And I want that to be more often than it is now. So, what do you want? A one-off or more than that?”

“I want more than that,” Din told him. “I want much more than that.”

Luke smiled. “Good.” He wondered, briefly, how much more than that he wanted. If he wanted sex, perhaps. He had said that some Mandalorians did that if they were in committed relationships that weren’t marriage, so if they are entering a committed relationship does that mean he’s open to the possibility? Luke ended up not asking that, not yet anyway. Regardless of the answer, he was happy with where they were now. “Does that mean I can start calling you my boyfriend?” Luke asked.

“It does,” Din told him. “Can I say that you’re mine?”

“Absolutely,” Luke told him. “So tomorrow, when I’m introducing you to everyone, I can tell everyone that we’re dating?” Din hesitated, for some reason. Luke looked up, raising his head off Din’s chest to look him in the eyes. “You don’t have to say yes,” Luke tried to assure him.

“No, that’s not it.” Din tried to find the words. “I want you to tell everyone here, I do. I just… I’m not sure about telling Grogu. I think maybe we should wait a bit before sharing this with him. He’s just a kid, you know?”

Luke nodded. “Of course. We can wait as long as you want.” And Luke meant it. Not only about telling Grogu, either. He would wait for Din as long as he needed. He settled back down into Din’s arm’s, his head returning to where it had been before.

“And about sex,” Din brought up. Luke tried not to react too much. “I’m not ready to do that just yet. Not that I won’t be, just that I’m not now.”

“I understand,” Luke said.

“And, I might never be,” Din told him. “You also have to be prepared for that.”

“Never?”

“Well, not before marriage,” Din said. “You have to be prepared for if, while we work out this relationship, I realize that I need to follow the old ways and can’t do anything before we get married.”

Luke nodded. Truth is, though he thought the idea of getting married right this instant wasn’t good, he wasn’t opposed to the idea that maybe he and Din would, eventually, get married. He actually kind of liked it. He could see an imagined future where he and Din are married and they raise force-sensitive kids together and Grogu calls him dad and… Luke realized that he had never done that for anyone before. Imagined a future where they were together as clearly as he had imagined it with Din. If they ever broke up, he was beginning to realize, it would wreck him. “I know,” was all he could say.

Din squeezed his arm. He tilted his head, till the place where his mouth was approximately aligned with Luke’s forehead. He made a sound, trying to kiss his boyfriend through the beskar. Luke just smiled. “Goodnight,” Din said, settling back into bed.

“Goodnight,” Luke repeated, settling down to sleep too. He fell asleep thinking about everything that had happened, with the party and then with Din. It was a really good birthday. The best he could ask for.


	5. The bombshell

The next morning, Luke woke up hangover. He regretted the night before. Then he realized who, exactly, was beside him in bed and absolutely did not regret anything about the night before.

Din was already awake. Of course, he would be an early riser. Luke wasn’t, in all honesty. He knew he had to be for his school but he simply wasn’t. It was something that he had always struggled with. He could imagine it, though, the idea of Din making up before him and helping him rise to start the morning. “Get up, sleepy head,” he would whisper in Luke’s ear. Luke smiled at the thought. Mornings wouldn’t be so hard if he could have Din there with him.

Luke yawned and stretched, alerting Din to the fact he had awoken. “Morning,” Din greeted him. The two had come apart in the night, and Luke was lying on his stomach beside Din.

“Morning,” Luke returned, pulling himself close to Din and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek of his helmet before snuggling up close to his boyfriend. His boyfriend. Just thinking that made Luke smile despite the grueling headache. “Whatcha doing?” he asked.

“Reading the newspaper,” Din said.

“Do you do that often?” Luke asked, confused. Din didn’t seem one to read the newspaper every morning but sure enough, as Luke looked to what he was reading on his tablet, the display read _Cloud City Times_.

“I’m not usually on one planet long enough to care about the local politics,” Din confessed. “But I wanted to stay with you until you woke up so decided to pick it up anyway.”

Luke smiled, though it hurt. “How are you not hung over?” Luke asked.

Din chuckled. “For one, I didn’t drink as much as you. For another, I turned down the brightness on my helmet to help me feel more normal.”

“I wish I could do that,” Luke said, closing his eyes to block out the angry sun.

“Plus, I took something for the headache when I got up.”

“Ohh, did you-” Luke began to ask.

“Yeah,” he said, taking a bottle of over the counter headache medication and a bottle of water from the bedside table and giving them to Luke.

“You’re the best,” Luke said, swallowing the pill and water.

“Is that so?” Din asked, watching him carefully.

“Yep.”

Din set down the tablet and leaned over. One hand covered Luke’s eyes as the other tipped back his helmet so he could kiss his boyfriend’s smile. Then another kiss, and another. Luke throws his hand around Din’s neck, pulling him closer. Luke wanted to stay like that forever, spending an entire day in bed with Din. But they are interrupted by a call on Luke’s comm.

“Luke?” Leia’s voice asks. “Luke are you there?”

Din tipped his helmet back down and removed his hand from Luke’s eyes, pulling away. Luke didn’t want to open his eyes just yet because that would mean accepting that Din wasn’t kissing him anymore. But another “Luke” from Leia jerked him out of his fantasy.

He fetched the comm link from the bedside table, sitting on the edge of the bed to answer it. “Yeah Leia?”

“Good, you’re awake,” Leia said. “Han and I need breakfast. You coming with us?”

“Yeah, breakfast sounds good. With coffee, lots of coffee.”

“Maybe we could ask Din to come with us,” Leia suggested. The Mandalorian in question perked his head up. “Do you know the number of his ship’s radio or holo deck?”

Luke couldn’t help but smile. “I do, but he won’t be there.”

“Oh, do you know what happened to him?” Leia asked.

“He actually spent the night with me,” Luke said, trying to keep him voice steady as he held back a smile.

“Morning Leia,” Din said, leaning over so his voice could be picked up on the comm.

“Oh,” was all Leia could say. Luke could tell that that she, too, was holding back a smile. “Well, maybe we could see both of you at breakfast.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you downstairs in 10 minutes.” Luke put down the comm and turned back to his boyfriend. “Want to join us?” he asked.

“Yeah, I just need to check on some things back on my ship.”

“Great, I need to change into a fresh set of clothes.” He realized he was still wearing his party clothes from the night before.

“I should leave you, then,” Din said, getting out of the bed and starting to go.

Luke kind of wanted Din to stay with him and watch him undress. He liked the way he looked naked, and though he knew they couldn’t have sex they could still be with each other while naked, right? Maybe not now, though. He watched Din leave and felt the same yearning he had before, only now it was a yearning for more.

Luke sighed, then got dressed and went down to meet his sister and Han in the food hall. They had gotten a table for four and had already ordered a pot of coffee for the table. Luke sat down across from Leia. “So,” he said.

“So,” she responded. Her hair was down and she was still in her pajamas. She was hung over too, but she was smiling at him. “I. Want. Details.”

“Where is he, anyway?” Han asked.

“He has to check on some things back on his ship.”

“Enough,” Leia said. “Tell me what happened.”

Luke smiled, and told them the whole story. About inviting him back to his room, their little talk, their long kisses. Leia smiled the entire time, but Han just shook his head.

“I’m really happy for you,” Leia said at the end of it.

“I’m not,” Han said. “You really think you couldn’t do any better than _him_?”

Leia rolled her eyed. “Yes, I am,” Luke said. “I really like him, Han, so could you please just be cool?”

Han held up his hand, backing off. Luke turned back to Leia. She reached across the table to squeeze his hand. “You seem happy,” she said.

“I am.”

Then someone caught her attention. Luke turned around to find his Mandalorian walking up to them.

“Hey,” Luke greeted him as he arrived.

“Hey.” He took his seat across from Han. The two stared at each other a while, sizing each other up, but Din had better things to do than look at someone who wasn’t even his boyfriend.

“We already ordered a bunch of bacon and eggs for the table,” Leis told him. “You can eat with us if you want.”

“I already ate, but I would love some coffee,” Din told her.

“Here,” Luke said, pouring him a cup and putting a straw in it. Din took it with his left hand and held Luke’s hand with his right. He stayed there, holding his hand as the food came. Luke, Leia and Han talked about the party last night, and the dinner that night as Din listened to them. He liked being around them, he found. Even Han seemed tolerable.

After breakfast, Luke wanted to show Din the city. They walked around, seeing where the school was, stopping by a park. Luke told Din about the first time they came here, about everything that had happened. He had already known about Luke losing his hand in some way but it’s Mandalorian policy to never make a warrior remember how they got a particular scar before they are ready. It’s always on the bearer of the scar and its memory to say whether they want to share it and unless they do, you don’t ask about it. But Luke was comfortable talking about it.

He opened up about his father, too. Again, Din knew the general story but hearing the specifics from Luke was different. It was hard, Din knew. And complicated. There were a lot of feelings tied up around everything that had happened. Din understood that and didn’t push him on anything.

There was also the fact that they had only last night gotten together. They were still very much in the honeymoon portion of dating. They kept escaping into supply closets to make out with the blindfold that Din had decided to keep on his utility belt. They were still using the band that had kept the curtain in place which would have to be returned before they left. Din made a mental note to get something else that they could use next time.

They talked about the school too. Din was pleased that Grogu was doing so well. Luke was trying to keep up with everyone, but it was getting hard. Earlier, everyone was more or less at the same place because they were all beginners. Now Sani and some older students were starting to progress faster than the rest and it was getting hard to give them the personalized attention they deserved while still making sure everyone else was taken care of.

“It was way easier when you were there,” Luke said. “You helped take care of the more basic stuff and I could focus on the more advanced students.”

“Why don’t I come and stay with you?” Din asked.

Luke perked up at that. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“Not all the time, but I could defiantly come over and help out more. Plus, I would get to see you and Grogu.”

Luke smiled. “I would love that.”

Around dinner time they walked back to the dinning room. It was a smaller gathering, closer friends only. Luke introduced Din to everyone, smiling every time he said the words “my boyfriend.” Din had explained Mandalorian names to him, that it wasn’t used the way names were from other cultures. Generally speaking, you don’t use someone’s name unless they give it to you. And you don’t give your name to everyone you meet either, only when they have earned your trust. Extending a name is like extending your trust. So, Luke was careful not to give it away for everyone to know. He thought it was going to be hard, but then he remembered how the first time they meet they didn’t exchange names. If he could do it accidentally, he could do it on purpose.

The dinner was great. Every time there was a lull in the conversation, Luke could just ask if they meet his boyfriend and could then gush about him. Luke liked this newfound ability of his. He could feel Din blushing and smiling below his helmet.

Luke was having the time of his life. Din, however, noticed something was wrong with Leia. She was seated apart from everyone else, on a couch at the side of the room. Her brow was furrowed, and she seemed a galaxy away.

“Everything alright?” Din asked, walking over and taking a seat next to each other.

“Yeah,” Leia lied. “It’s nothing, really.”

“No, it isn’t.” Din insisted. “What’s going on?”

Leia sighed, sizing him up to try and decide if he was trustful or not. “There was a prison that was destroyed,” Leia told him.

“Destroyed?”

“Destroyed. It was a floating city, similar to this one. Three well placed kinetic bombs at the base took the entire thing down.”

“How many dead?” Din asked.

“All of them.”

“And that’s what’s concerned you?”

“No,” Leia said, but hesitated. “Truth is, and I’m not sure if I should even be telling you this, but they counted the bodies. They’re missing one.”

“So, it was an escape attempt,” Din realized.

“Over three hundred dead. Who kills hundreds of people just to escape on convict?”

“Do you have an ID yet?” Din was concerned.

“No. There was a fire when the prison fell so a few of the corpses are badly burnt up and they’re still working to ID them. All this happened late last night and the planetary governor wasn’t available to supervise them or order them to start excavating until early this morning.”

“Where was he?” Din asked.

“Partying with us,” Leia said. “And when they started excavating, they were backed up because the head of Forensic Anthropology for that system was held up.”

“Where was he?”

“She was here,” Leia said again. Din was starting to notice the pattern.

“They are having to call in Marshals from nearby planets because the Marshal for that one-”

“Let me guess. They were at your party.”

Leia nodded. “Whoever it is waited for the exact right time to strike, when the party was in full swing and everyone was too drunk to answer their calls. So not only are they ruthless with no regard for human life they are also careful. We probably won’t get an ID till tomorrow, a full 36 hours after they escaped.”

“And if everyone hadn’t been at your party? If they had gotten to work immediately?”

“Probably 12?” Leia guessed.

“So they managed to get themselves an extra 24 hour head start,” Din concluded. “Whoever did this is smart.”

“Yeah. And this whole situation, I have a bad feeling about this.”

“I thought that was my line,” Han said, appearing before his wife. He laid a comforting hand on her shoulder and took a seat next to her, on the other side of Din. “You should stop worrying. Listen, there’s nothing more than you can do. The best thing is to wait and deal with the situation tomorrow when we actually know who we are dealing with.”

Leia nodded. “I know.”

“Might as well have fun, right?” Han suggested.

“Yeah.” Leia smiled. It was heartwarming to see how easily Han could calm down and cheer up his wife. Maybe he was a good husband as well as a good father. The reasons for Din to distrust him were getting fewer and fewer. He was going to have to start liking him soon, wasn’t he? Din sighed. He wasn’t looking forward to that.

The rest of the dinner proceeded as usual. He and Luke were seated next to each other. Din didn’t eat, but he fixed himself a plate that he ate back at his ship afterwards.

He spent the night with Luke again. They kissed some more and held each other as they fell asleep. Luke was honestly in heaven and couldn’t believe that this was happening for a second night in a row. He knew that it would probably be the last night since Din was leaving him tomorrow but he wasn’t worried. Din had said that he would be stopping by the academy more often so Luke wasn’t too worried. He would find himself back in his Mandalorian’s arm before he knew it.

The next morning’s brunch was a bittersweet affair. It was only a dozen or so people, their very closest friends. Luke knew that they would all be saying goodbye when it was done. Knew that Din would go away. He was being extra close with him, practically sitting in his lap as he rested his head against Din’s shoulder. Din was extra close too, his arm never leaving Luke’s side.

Then Leia’s holo started beeping and lighting up red. There was a call, and it was urgent. Leia answered it, and Cara Dune appeared in front of her. “Marshal Dune? What’s new?”

Din came over. “Cara?” he asked.

Cara saw Din enter her holo’s field of view and tensed up. “It’s actually good you’re here, Din. You should hear this.”

“Hear what?” Din asked.

“We were able to ID the escaped convict. It took a while to ID since we had to eliminate everyone else first. In hindsight it should have been obvious once I saw the convict list.”

A cold chill went down Din’s spine. He felt he already knew the answer before Cara said anything. But the answer, it was his worst nightmare. It couldn’t be true. “Cara,” he said, his voice haunted by his worst-case scenario coming true. “Cara, who is it?”

“Moff Gideon,” she said, confirming his worst suspicions. “Moff Gideon has escaped.”


End file.
